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We are no puzzle! (Stamp)

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This may seem like this is a stamp for anti-autism, but it's not. In fact, this is a stamp talking about the use of puzzle pieces when talking about autism.

I was actually unaware of this for a while until I saw this post by fictionalpride. Homosexual and Asperger's Arachnus Now, I'm not saying what they did was wrong, they were just unaware. I can understand that, and they admitted their mistake. This is good. :)

After seeing this, I decided to do a bit of research, and what I found was rather shocking. Basically, the puzzle pieces can represent autistic people either "missing a piece of them" which is flat out incorrect, or that autistic people "are a mystery" or "puzzle". NO. This is one of the things I hate about mental illnesses being portrayed in both real life and in fiction, that we are just people with a mysterious life who are delicate flowers that need your protection and encouragement. I can protect myself, thanks.

Another thing I highly dislike is how some children's books and TV shows represent autistic characters. They're often shown running in circles, throwing tantrums and generally acting crazy. While this may be more common in very young children, this does not apply to most. I know that I was certainly never like that. However, there is one character who I believe was written almost perfectly, that being Julia from Sesame Street. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA9FIW…

Notice how she interacts with the characters and how the others interact with her. She's not hyper-active, and even does movements a bit more subtly than most. For example, she flaps her arms, jumps up and down, and other things that are common in autistic children. But it's not... OUT THERE, y'know? Sometimes the other characters would point it out, saying things like "Wow, Julia! You're bouncing like a rubber ball!", which would be a normal way for a child to reach to seeing their friend do something like that.  One of the things I'm most proud of for the writing of her character is her meltdown scenes. When a truck with a siren goes by, she covers her ears and is annoyed, as most autistic children would do. She doesn't scream and whine, like how most other forms of media portray. Good on you, Sesame Street. Good on you.


I'd highly recommend checking out these posts for further info:

My thoughts on Autism Speaks


UPDATE:
Per the request of user CanzetYote , I've decided to update this description with my thoughts of the Arthur episode regarding Asperger's. To be rather blunt... it's not all that great. The autistic child (Carl) is seen doing some of the actions I mentioned earlier, like throwing tantrums over simple fears. However, my biggest grievance with the episode is the segment where Brain talks about how his Uncle Keith sees the world as a strange land where everyone is a strange alien creature. I get what the writers were trying to do there, but it's probably not a good idea to put an idea into kid's heads that autistic people are from another planet. Although, one of the good things I can say about the episode is that Carl shows what one of his main interests are; trains. He can talk about trains for hours. Unlike most other portrayals of autism symptoms, this one's pretty true. Most autistic people do have a somewhat odd topic they like. For example, mine is the 70's band Rush. I could probably tell you everything about the band in about an hour or two. (I can even list off all their albums in chronological order in 25 seconds!)

To sum it up? Not a great representation, but I guess as long as the writers weren't being payed by Autism Speaks to make the episode, it's fine. I can see they had good intent, it's just that they most likely didn't have anyone close to them with the condition.  

The episode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq-Vhf…
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IrishDisaster's avatar
People have such extreme approaches to autism. They seem to think of it as either a disease or a superpower, when it's really a double edged sword, and a myriad of characteristics (both good and bad) that are variable in different people on the spectrum. Some Aspies do fine on their own, others need an advocate (as do I). Some on the spectrum are generally happy people, while others can't help it if they're depressed. 

In my book, autism doesn't need to be glamorized (since that distracts people from the truth about the pain many autistic people endure) nor does it need to be stigmatized; it just needs to be accepted and properly assessed so autistic people can live decent lives and coexist with NT's.